Improvement in machine for picking- wool



MNMM Ww- @gated WILLIAM WARDSWORTH AND E.. H. SEMPLE, OF ST. LOUIS, MIS- SOURI.

Letters Pcte'ntdNo. 84,236, dated l-Vooember 17, 1868.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same,

To all whom it 'may -concern Be it known that we, XVILLIAM XVARDswOnrH and E. H. SEMPLE, of St. Louis, iu the county of St. Louis,

.and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in VVool-Picking Machines; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying ch'awings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

This iwention relates to a machine for picking and separating Wool-fleece, and preparing it for inanuiac turing-pin'poses.

The machine consists of the follom'ng devices, viz:-

A rota-tin g cylinder, armed with serrated blades, placed side by side, with short intervals between them, draws the wool from the feed-box, by allowing a small 4portion of the periphery of the said blades to enter the feed-box through the slotted floor thereof, in a manner similar to the cotton-gin. Immediately behind this serrated cylinder is another, provided with radial wings, the outer ends of which are armed with carding-board. The latter cylinder is revolved in the opposite direction to the former, and a little faster than it, the distance between the two being just sulicient to allow the revolving card-boards to strike the serrated blades, and clear them of adhering wool. These constitute the leading features of the invention, but others, which relate to the more detailed parts of th'e construction, will be hereinafter more fully explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use om improved machine for preparing wool, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure l of the drawings is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the said machine.

Figure 2 is a sectional-plan thereof, the feed-box and cover being removed in this figure.

Figure 3 is a detail section of the second or cleaningcylinder.

The frame A may be of any convenient form of constructionsuitable for sustaining the operative parts of the machine, which operative parts consist ofthe separating or disintegrating-cylinder B and the cleaningcylinder C. -v

.The cylinder B is armed' uith serrated blades, b, very similar to those of-a Icotton-gin. These blades are placed, say, one-quarter of an inch apart, and a small portion of their peripheries is allowed to extend, through the slots d, into the feed-box D, also in a manner very similar to that of a cotton-gin.

The principal dierence between these parts, as constructed in this machine and in a cotton-gin, consists in having the slots d slightly wider in this machine than in a cotton-gin, so as to facili-tate the passage of the wool through the saidslots; also, in having-the serrations of the blades 11 somewhat deeper.

The wool to beoperated upon in this machine is.

first placed in the storage-box E, from whence it is placed in the feed-box I) by the attendants.' The serrated blades b seize itin the box D, and draw it through the slots l in a thoroughly-disintegrated condition, and well prepared for the cardjng-machme.

For the lighter and better grades of Wool, the slide F is closed, as shown in iig. 2, so as to drive the iinished wool out at the discharge-aperture f, over the slotted iloor F, but, for heavy, knotted wool, the slide F will be opened, as shown in g. 1, thereby letting the wool drop directly down below the roller C.

The roller C is placed directly behind the roller B, and in the same horizontal plane with it, or nearly so.

This roller is provided with radial arms, c, on the outer ends of which are carding-brushes, c1.

These' carding-brus'hes are aiiXed to slides, c, as clearly shown in fig. 3, the said slides 'being arranged to b'e put in or drawn out of grooves in the ends ofthe arms c, so as to readily replace worn brushes by new ones, when required.'

The bearing-boxes c3, of the roller C, are arranged to a lateral adjustment by means of the set-screws c,

so as to set the revolving brushes cl in such a position as to sweep the edges of the revolving blades b, and clear them of adhering particles of wool.

l The slotted iioor F permits the dirt separated from the wool to pass down to the apartment below the said licor, as the wool is blown across the said loor on its passage to the exit-aperture j'.

This machine is especially adaptedto pick and prepare for carding very rough refuse wool, such as comes from tanneries, or is filled with knotted locks, burrs, Sto., Src.

Having described our invention,

' What we claim, is-

The combination of the cleansing-cylinder B, roller C, arranged in adjustable bearing-boxes c3, and having radial arms O and brushes c1 02,' the slide F, and slotted floor F, all constructed, arranged, and operating as and for the purposes set forth.

WM. WARDSWOR'IH. E. H. SEMPLE., Witnesses:

M. RANDOLPH, GEO. P. HERTHEL, Jr. 

